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Course and Section_______ Date___________

Names ___________________________ _________________________________

AC CIRCUIT EXPERIMENT
This lab deals with circuits involving resistors, capacitors and inductors in which the currents and voltages vary sinusoidally in time. Equipment 1 1 1 1 1 1 Introduction If the current through a passive component is given by
i( t ) = I sin( t ) = I sin( 2 f t ) . (1)

function generator (PC Scope software) digital multimeter and leads decade resistance box capacitor (nominally 0.1 F) inductor (nominally 10 mH) mini-jack to banana plug (black, red, blue) cable, 2 alligator clips

then the voltage across the component also varies sinusoidally, but with a phase that depends on the component. For a resistor the voltage is in phase with the current. For a capacitor the voltage lags the current by 90o, and for an inductor the voltage leads the current by 90o. The peak (or rms) current-voltage relationships for a resistor, capacitor and inductor are

VR = IR
VC = IX C = I /( C )

(2) (3) (4)

VL = IX L = I L
Series RC Circuit In a series RC circuit, since the currents are the same then the voltages across R and C are 90o out of phase. Consequently, the total voltage across the combination is R

V = I R2 + X C 2

(5)

v(t) = V sin( t+)


Figure 1

Series RL Circuit In a series RL circuit, the voltages across R and L will also be 90o out of phase. Thus,

V = I R2 + X L2

(6)

v(t) = V sin( t+)


Figure 2

Series RLC Circuit In a series RLC circuit, since the voltage across L leads the current by 90o and the voltage across C lags the current by 90o, then the voltages across L and C are 180o out of phase. Consequently, we have R

V = I R 2 + (X L X C ) .

(7)
2

We can write this as V = I Z , where Z = R 2 + ( X L X C ) is the circuit impedance. In the series RLC circuit, the current will be a maximum when the impedance is a minimum, that is, when XL = XC, or

v(t) = V sin( t+)


Figure 3 (8)

f = f0 =

1 2 LC

Preliminary Questions
1. In a series RC circuit, VR and VC are measured as a function of frequency. Do you expect VR and VC to increase, decrease, or remain constant as you change f? Show your predictions by making a sketch of VR and VC versus f.

2. In a series RL circuit the rms voltage across R is 30 V and the rms voltage across L is 40 V. What is the rms value of the voltage across the RL combination?

Procedure
In this experiment, you will use the function generator feature of the PC Soundcard Oszilloscope program for your voltage source and the handheld multimeter to measure the voltages. (You will not use the PC oscilloscope.) The Oszilloscope program can be accessed from the Scope icon on the desktop. Use the red and black leads of the cable for the function generator output and make sure the volume of the PC soundcard is not set on mute. Series RC Circuit Wire the series RC circuit as shown in Fig. 1. Use the decade resistance box and set R = 500 . (Note: Measure the resistance to ensure that R is approximately the set value. If it is way off, then this particular setting is damaged. Then pick another setting (e.g., 400 or 600 ).) Turn Channel 1 of the scope function generator on, set it to sine, and set the amplitude to 1. (Note: The actual function generator output voltage will depend on the load.) Now use the multimeter to measure VR, VC and V (function generator voltage) as a function of frequency over the range from 100 Hz to 8000 Hz. Use steps of 100, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, , 8000 Hz. Enter your data into Excel. In a separate column calculate V R 2 + VC 2 . Now on a single graph, plot VR,

VC, V, and V R 2 + VC 2 as a function of f.


Analysis: 1. Are your measurements in qualitative agreement with your answer to Preliminary Question 1? Explain.

2. How does your source voltage, V, compare with V R 2 + VC 2 ? Why dont the voltages add as V = VR + VC?

3. Note the frequency at which VR = VC. Use this value of f and your known value of R to calculate C.

f = ____________

C = _____________

Series RLC Circuit Now add the inductor in series with the above circuit to form a series RLC circuit. Change the resistance setting from 500 to 50 . (Check the value of the resistance with the multimeter, if 50 is not working try 40 or 60 ). Measure the voltage across the resistor as a function of frequency from 100 to 8000 Hz. Use steps of 100, 500, 1000, , 8000 Hz. Note the approximate frequency where VR reaches its maximum value. Now add a few additional measurements at frequencies near this value to better define your resonance.

Analysis: 1. Make a graph of VR versus f and determine the resonance frequency, f0. Use Eq. (8) and your previously determined values of R and C to calculate L.

f0 = ____________

L = __________

2. The quality factor, Q, of the resonant circuit is defined as

f Q= 0 , f

(9)

where f is the width of the resonance curve measured between points where the power dissipation is the value at resonance. Since P = VR2/R, the half-power points correspond to the points where V R = V R (max) / 2 .

It can be shown that Q can be calculated using the expression Q= 2 f 0 L R (10)

Measure Q using Eq. (9) and compare with your calculated Q using Eq. (10). In Eq. (10) R should be the total resistance of the circuit (decade box plus coil resistance).

Q Measured = _________

Q Calculated = __________

%difference = __________

3. Set your frequency to the resonance value. Now measure VL, VC, and VLC , the voltage across the LC combination. Ideally, at resonance the voltages across L and C are 1800 out of phase and exactly cancel so that VLC = 0. Presumably, this is not what you observe. The reason is because the inductor has a resistance RL that is effectively in series with L. So, at resonance you would expect that VLC = IRL. Use the multimeter (resistance setting) to measure RL. Measure the source voltage V and calculate the current using I = V/(R+RL). Then calculate IRL and compare with your measured value of VLC.

Turn in your Excel graphs; Exit the Scope program and answers to all questions.

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